Category: Korea-General Topics

When it comes to these exams the Koreans have definitely set the standard for cheating on them.  This seems to happen every year:

Some students in two Asian countries likely cheated on the SAT exams administered in October and November of this year, the Educational Testing Service has confirmed.

In October, scores were withheld from residents of South Korea and China as ETS, which administers the test worldwide, investigated possible cheating on the exam administered that month. Following a review, the firm determined that “a small number of test-takers had an unfair advantage on the test,” ETS spokesman Thomas Ewing told The Huffington Post on Monday. “ETS is contacting directly these test-takers to inform them that valid scores cannot be provided.”

Citing confidentiality concerns, Ewing declined to say how many scores were invalidated but noted that “the majority of scores” are valid.  [Huffington Post via reader tip]

You can read more at the link, but ROK Heads may remember that the SAT had to be cancelled last year in Korea because of widespread cheating.

What could possibly be going on is that some in the Park administration may be resentful of Jung having influence over President Park and leaked this document in an attempt to sideline him:

President Park Geun-hye on Monday condemned the disclosure of documents regarding Chung Yoon-hoi, a former aide, calling for a thorough investigation.

“(I) do not know what the intention behind leaking the documents was, but it is an act that damages national order,” Park said at a meeting with senior presidential staff.

Saying that real and false information accumulated at the presidential office, the president said that the country will fall into “major chaos and social discord” if information gathered by her office is released to the public without verification.

Going on to say that simple fact-checking could have determine the claims, veracity, Park said similar “groundless incidents” should not recur.

“Who leaked the documents and for what purpose must quickly be made known. The prosecution should investigate and leave no suspicion unexamined.”

On Nov. 28, a local daily reported that Chung was manipulating state affairs as a core member of an unofficial group of advisers to the president citing documents compiled by Cheong Wa Dae’s office for public servants’ discipline.

The presidential office has filed a criminal complaint against a police superintendent identified as Park for allegedly removing concerned documents from Cheong Wa Dae when he was reassigned back to the National Police Agency in February.  [Korea Herald]

You can read more at the link, but Jung is also the person that Park was rumored to be having a private relationship with that is the source of another libel suit against a Japanese reporter.

This has the makings of being another possible mass casualty event for South Korea:

Rescuers searched Monday for more than 50 people missing after a South Korean fishing ship they were working on sank amid high waves in the freezing waters of the Bering Sea, officials said. At least one person died.

Authorities rescued seven crew members and recovered one body, but weather and water conditions were complicating the search for the others, an official from the South Korean fisheries and oceans ministry said on condition of anonymity because of office rules.

The crew included 35 Indonesians, 13 Filipinos, 11 South Koreans and one Russian inspector, the official said. Russian authorities said there were 62 people aboard the ship, which sank in the western part of the Bering Sea, near Russia.

The South Korean ministry official said it’s believed that the ship, which was catching pollock, began to list after stormy weather caused seawater to flood its storage areas. The official said the 2,100-ton ship was 35 years old.  [Yahoo via reader tip]

You can read more at the link, but hopefully Russian search and rescue can pull these guys out of the water

Here is an interesting article about an ex-State Senator trying to get memorials that represent Korea’s modern history built in Oregon:

As a young boy during the Korean War, John Lim witnessed his father being forcibly conscripted by the North Korean People’s Army.

The incident was only the beginning of a series of greater tragedies. Branded as a communist, his father, who was a fire captain in his hometown of Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, was shot dead by South Korean authorities after the three-year conflict. The entire family was destroyed, and Lim himself nearly died from tuberculosis.

His brushes with death, however, did not kill his dreams. In 1966, a penniless Lim took a flight to the U.S. and pursued religious studies while working as a janitor, painter and gardener. He then ventured into business, boasting acumen in retail, health food and real estate, among other areas.

In 1992, Lim set a milestone in Korean-American history, becoming a state senator in Oregon. After serving five straight terms, he is now seeking to “set up memorials dedicated to U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur and former South Korean presidents who contributed to the country’s economic and political development, such as Park Chung-hee and Kim Dae-jung.   [Korea Herald]

Here is something else I found of interest in the article, Lim’s group tried to take over the MacArthur statue in Incheon after hate groups wanted to tear it down:

The five-year project was initiated after some liberal civic groups called for the demolition of a MacArthur sculpture at a public park in Incheon last year.

The Lim-led Korean War Memorial Foundation of Oregon initially sought to take over the statue, but then decided to have a new one made. In 2000, it established a 5-acre memorial park within a city park of Wilsonville near Portland to commemorate the war and U.S. veterans, with the support of the Seoul government, the city and South Korean businesses there.

Long time ROK Heads may remember how in 2005 huge riots broke out in Incheon as ROK veterans groups defended the MacArthur statue from the anti-US leftist hate groups that had vowed to tear it down.

Fortunately the anti-US hate groups failed to tear down the castle after the Braveheart style battle to defend the hill.  For those that haven’t been there before Jayu Park in Incheon where the MacArthur statue stands is well worth checking out as well as taking a walk through Chinatown below the hill.

I will be surprised if Korean authorities allow Uber to continue to operate over the long term considering how it will greatly affect the large number of taxi drivers in the country:

Uber, a U.S-based ride-sharing service app company, has proposed meetings with taxi drivers in Seoul who have been protesting its presence in Korea.

An official from the Seoul Taxi Association (STA) reacted negatively to the proposal, saying Uber will have to stop its service first.

“Uber remains open to meeting with the taxi associations to discuss how Uber can help improve the lives and economic opportunities for Seoul’s taxi drivers,” Uber Korea said in a statement released Tuesday.

The statement came after thousands of taxi drivers staged a rally in central Seoul, asking the city government to kick Uber out of the Korean market.

“Uber first must agree to stop their service. Then, we can talk,” a tax lobby official said.

Launched in August, Uber connects customers with Uber-registered drivers through a smartphone app.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but has anyone tried this yet in Korea?  I wonder how much cheaper this is compared to the already reasonable taxi fares?

Who creates a building to barbeque in with a straw roof, one exit, and no fire extinguisher?  Well a guy in Damyang did with deadly results:

Four university students were killed and six others sustained injuries in a fire at a guest house in Damyang, South Jeolla Province, Saturday.

The fire erupted in a hut in the guest house compound, where some guests were having a barbeque.

A survivor said the fire began after one of the guests attempted to extinguish a charcoal fire by pouring water onto it, which caused sparks to reach the flammable ceiling.

Police said the hut was built with flammable materials ― dried grass for the roof, a wooden floor and plastic walls.

Twenty-six guests were inside the hut grilling meat at the time of the incident. All were students from Dongshin University in Naju, South Jeolla Province.

Another survivor said there wasn’t a fire extinguisher in the hut, which is used by guests for barbeques.

“I had to bring one from elsewhere, but even that stopped working after 30 seconds,” he was quoted as saying by a police officer.

Police suspect poor safety inspections are to blame for the fire which started at 9:45 p.m. and lasted 50 minutes.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but this is just another example of poor safety awareness in Korea. Hopefully the increased media attention on this subject in Korea will improve safety awareness to reduce incidents like this from happening.

It sounds like that someone in marketing over at IKEA wasn’t doing their job very well by not looking to avoid controversy with hot button issues such as this before their grand opening in Korea:

Swedish furniture retailer IKEA, which will open here for business next month, has already become a focus of controversy because of decorative world maps in its product range that identify the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan as the “Sea of Japan,” not the “East Sea.”

IKEA Korea said Tuesday that the maps, currently available at some of the company’s overseas outlets, won’t be shipped into Korea. The Korean unit of the international furniture retailer said the product was made based on Google Maps.

Korea and Japan have wrangled for decades over what to name the waters between the two countries.

“We are sorry for causing controversy,” IKEA Korea said in a statement. “We are fully aware of the seriousness of this case for the Korean people.”

The company said that the map in question had already been excluded from a list of products to be imported to Korea. But it didn’t suggest any solution such as replacing Sea of Japan with East Sea or including both names on the map.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but I hope they scrubbed their website and promotional products to make sure that their is no reference to Takeshima as well.

#ParkShinHye models classic Bruno Magli http://t.co/thE6x6vXlq pic.twitter.com/LfFDBIzNFG

— DramaFever (@dramafever) November 18, 2014

This is not exactly a tasteful photograph to celebrate graduation with and I am not surprised it is being criticized in Korea:

A poster showing topless art students posing has gone viral on social media after it was uploaded on a personal online account.

Eighteen modern dance students at Chonbuk National University in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, took the now-famous photograph to commemorate their graduation, reports said.

It is customary for seniors to take studio photographs with their friends. However, this particular photo drew controversy when it was made into a poster for a graduation recital — an official school event.

The photos show the dancers 17 female and one male ­shirtless and with their backs to the camera.

“Things are difficult in our department as a result of this poster going viral,” Kim Yoon-ah, a teaching assistant in the dance department, told The Korea Times.  [Korea Times via the Marmot’s Hole]

You can read more at the link, but the rule of thumb just about anywhere is to ask yourself is this a photograph you would want to send to grandma? With that said the one guy in this photo is probably proud to show it to everyone including grandma.

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